In celebration of its 50th anniversary, the Beatles' debut film, 1964’s legendary A Hard Day's Night is set for a new DVD and Blu-ray release on July 21st in the UK, according to Steve Marrinucci’s Beatles Examiner. Although a North American release date for the restored film has yet to be announced, on July 4th, fans can download the movie online as well as catch its one-day theatrical re-release. Over the years, A Hard Days Night -- which premiered in London on July 6th, 1964 -- has been reissued three times, with its initial 1997 release featuring an introductory video for "I’ll Cry Instead" -- as featured in the original 1981 VHS version -- along with an outtake performance of "You Can’t Do That," which was left out of the movie, but shown on The Ed Sullivan Show on May 24th, 1964.

The usually reliable Wogew.Blogspot.com posted about the newly improved technical aspects of the upcoming edition: ". . . the new version of A Hard Day's Night will be a brand new transfer to the digital domain (in 4k), and for the first time on DVD the original aspect ratio 1.75:1 from the 1964 theatrical screenings of the movie will be used. Earlier editions on DVD has been cropped either horizontally (MPI/Buena Vista) or vertically (Miramax). . . the audio is also improved, Giles Martin has produced a surround version of the soundtrack, which will be a selectable audio option along with a remastered (by Ron Furmanek) original mono soundtrack for that 1964 experience."

Paul McCartney told us that thanks to the Abbey Road technical team, the Beatles' music once again has been restored to how it sounded while in the studio: "I always say that one of the great things about technology is that when we recorded them, there wasn't, like, a hiss in the room, there wasn't a hum in the room. That was the equipment we recorded onto, (which) was technically substandard to what we've got today. So in actual fact by cleaning it up, you're getting more (of) what was actually what was in the room. You're getting the guitar sound without a hiss, or without a hum. So that's great."

The soundtrack to A Hard Day's Night featured such future Beatles classics as the movie's title track, "I Should Have Known Better," "If I Fell," "I'm Happy Just To Dance With You," "And I Love Her," "Tell Me Why," and "Can't Buy Me Love."